Our Practices and Projects
SOIL FIRST! That's our approach to farming here at Endless Holler. You can't have healthy plants and produce without healthy soil so we take extra care to make sure our soil is a functional living ecosystem that works alongside us rather than against us.
But what does healthy soil look like?
Like most of this region, our soil is naturally very clay heavy, which can be a challenge to farm. So we are taking an active approach to transforming our plots into nutrient rich ecosystems for our plants. We’re aiming for soil that is:
Well-draining to prevent erosion and nutrient loss
Water retentive to store water for when our plants need it
Most importantly, "Alive" with tons of microbial activity
These microbes (beneficial bacteria, fungi, and nematodes) as well as larger creatures like earthworms help the structure of our soil and break nutrients down into forms more readily available to plant roots. A truly living soil is packed full of billions of better farmers than we could ever hope to be, and so philosophically, our approach is to set them up for success, and get out of their way.
Take care of the soil and the soil will take care of your plants.
In order to achieve this living ecosystem, we employ several methods to achieve this:
COMPOSTING
We make and apply our own compost here on the farm, providing nutrients and organic material for beneficial microbes directly into our beds. Through a mix of outdoor hot composting, and indoor vermiculture (composting with worms) we're able to achieve a rich, well-balanced 'food' for our soil and plants that is teeming with just the kind of life we need to help us out. Increasing the organic material in our soil through compost and mulch also improves water retention, meaning less need for waterings during the hot summer months.
HAND TOOLS
At our smaller scale, we're able to reduce our reliance on machinery and heavy tilling practices that pulverize the soil, which may create good tilth, but destroys the soil structures that promote microbial life and good drainage. Instead we heavily utilize hand tools, including our trusty broadfork which penetrates deep into the soil to break up compaction, increase drainage, and introduce oxygen deeper down without disturbing those important structures. This minimally invasive gentler approach allows the ecosystem we want to really come to life.
COVER CROPS
Bare soil is subject to invasion by weeds and erosion, so we also employ cover crops- crops grown not to harvest, but to cover and amend the soil. Certain nitrogen-fixers like clover capture nitrogen from the air and store it in their roots for when plants need it. Other cover crops send out deep taproots to break up soil compaction and mine essential nutrients up from far below the topsoil, bringing them up to be made more accessible. When it's time to plant, these crops will be cut down and mulched directly into the soil, adding more organic material into our system and enriching our soil over time.